Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on the Issues

DENVER (August 13, 2004) - The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Policy Division Board of Directors has approved a directive instructing the NCBA Political Action Committee to formally endorse and financially support the candidacy of George W. Bush for President of the United States. This historic decision was made because the policies of President Bush and those of his Administration most closely match the policies of the NCBA.

NCBA’s mission is to protect and enhance the profitability of its member producers.President Bush supports the growth and success of American small businesses, and his positions on key issues, his proven track record, and his agenda for his next term provide an environment in which cattle producers and rural communities can prosper and better overcome their business challenges.

A comparison of President Bush's and Sen. Kerry's stances on issues of interest to cattlemen follow.

Bush vs. Kerry Comparison

ISSUE	BUSH	KERRY
Ban on packer ownership of cattle	Against	For
Unfair market practices	Supports enforcement of packers and stockyards act	Protection for small farmers and ranchers; voted against proliferation of confinement operations
Mandatory Country of Origin	Against	For
Canadian Beef Restrictions	Resume trade based upon science	Supports ban of imports from Canada
ENVIRONMENT		Endorsed by Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, the Friends of the Earth Action, and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund; increased resources to reduce sprawl; reduced exploration for energy and natural resources on public lands; increased environmental and economic review for leasing public lands; increased bonding requirements for those who lease public lands; reinstate the protection of roadless areas in our national forests ; phase out of use of snowmobiles on public lands
Clear Skies Initiative	Reduction of power plant emissions by 70% over 15 years Reduction of nonroad diesel emissions by 90%	Supports reinstatement of the Nation’s Clean Air Program; supports strengthening EPA’s air quality standards; Clean Skies initiative does not go far enough; enforcement of particulate air quality standards
Water Quality Improvement	Increase of wetlands by 3 million acres; 53% increase in funding for conservation programs in 2005 Budget Great Lakes Legacy Act 2002 to clean up pollution in Great Lakes including $45 million in funding (5 times the funding for 2004) Increased funding for Water 2025 initiative	Supports increase of wetlands; development of an incentive system that encourages and enables farmers to reduce runoff from farms; increased regulation and enforcement of “factory farms” whose irresponsible waste disposal practices threaten water supplies; increased litigation against users of wetlands
ISSUE	BUSH	KERRY
Cleaning and redeveloping hazardous waste sites	Brownfield legislation 2002 accelerating cleanup of abandoned industrial sites; committed to “polluter pays” principle; 2005 budget provides for 10% increase over 2004 for an additional 8 to 12 clean-up starts	Increased funding for Superfund program; support “polluter pays” principle; stronger enforcement of Toxic Substances Control Act, the Food Quality Protection Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and other statutes
Land Conservation and Stewardship	Healthy Forests Initiative; reduction of catastrophic wildfires; $4.9 billion commitment for National Park maintenance over 5 years; $40 billion over 10 years for farm conservation programs; protects old growth trees; increased funding for EQIP programs on both private and public lands	Missed the vote on Healthy Forest initiative and opposes the legislation Limit availability of EQIP funding to small farm operations; Increased funding for conservation, wetlands, and grasslands reserve programs; voluntary public access to private lands; supports increased funding for National Park maintenance
Endangered Species	Supports revision to Endangered Species Act	Supports ESA as is and is committed to implementation; supports cooperative agreements with landowners to protect endangered species; supports consolidation of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service
Global Climate Change	$1 billion demonstration project creating the world’s first coal-based, zero emissions electricity and hydrogen power plant. Reduction of greenhouse gas intensity by 18%	Stronger action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Kyoto treaty	Rejected due to the $400 billion cost to U.S. economy and loss of nearly 5 million jobs.	Supports U.S. participation in Kyoto treaty
Border Security/Immigration	Created Dept. of Homeland Security; passage of USA Patriot Act; launched the Arizona Border Control Initiative that increased number of agents in Tucson to over 2000.	Supports DREAM act; supports AgJobs bill; earned legalization; visa program with worker protections; improved border security
ISSUE	BUSH	KERRY
Health Care	Lower health care costs for small business; expansion of medical savings accounts; reduction of frivolous and excessive lawsuits against doctors and hospitals; $25 billion over 10 years for rural health care in Medicare legislation	Supports expansion of rural healthcare
Tort Reform	Supports tort reform; more involvement of federal courts; more settlement benefits to victims	Opposes tort reform
Energy	National energy plan; upgrade of nation’s electrical grid, increase domestic energy production; increased use of renewable fuels; increased use of ethanol in gasoline to 5 billion gallons by 2012	Increased use of renewable fuels; limitation of exploration and mining of natural resources on public lands
Reduced government regulation	Streamlined tax reporting for small business; simplified and streamlined gov’t regulation
Trade	Supports competitive free trade agreements; CAFTA, Chile, Australia, Singapore;	Restrictions on Milk Protein Concentrates imports; renegotiation of CAFTA; free trade in emerging markets; stronger compliance by Mexico to NAFTA commitments; Reinstatement of “Super 301” process; Review of all trade agreements; increased resources for trade enforcement at WTO; structural reforms to enhance small business competitiveness; stop illegal currency manipulation
Tax Relief	Supports permanent repeal of estate tax, reduction in capital gains tax to 15%; increase in child tax credit; increased the expensing of capital investment from $25,000 to $100,000; $4 Billion in tax relief in 2004 for farm households;	Rollback of Bush tax reforms; supports increased exemptions on estate tax but not permanent repeal; increased tax for capital gains
Agriculture Policy	Over $1.5 billion in drought relief for ranchers	Supports increased disaster relief for farmers and ranchers
Bio Technology	Supports a science-based approach to bio technology	Supports increased regulation of genetically modified food products; work with international community to address concerns about GMO’s
ISSUE	BUSH	KERRY
Technology	Supports expansion of broad band internet access in rural communities	Supports expansion of broad band internet access in rural communities
BSE	Enhanced surveillance for BSE; increased regulation for BSE	Increased surveillance for BSE beyond what is currently being done; aggressive implementation of mandatory animal identification; more inspections to ensure compliance to feed ban

	Additional Information
	2004 NewsHub Archive
	2003 NewsHub Archive
	2002 NewsHub Archive

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